In the 12-year period of 2005 through 2016, canines killed 392 Americans. Pit bulls contributed to 65% (254) of these deaths. Combined, pit bulls and rottweilers contributed to 76% of the total recorded deaths. | More »

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Florida Teen Stabs Pit Bull
Hollywood, FL - A Hollywood teen accused of stabbing his pet pit bull then leaving him for dead in a dumpster was arrested and charged with animal abuse. The injured dog survived -- despite spending two days in the trash container without food and water. Brandon Conklin, 18, was charged with causing cruel death or pain and suffering to an animal. He is being held in the Broward County Main Jail on $2,500 bail.

In a profoundly disturbing case that represents both sides of a pit bull: being an abuser and being the victim of abuse, the story continues.

Conklin apparently found the 2-year-old dog, named "Dadda Love," in December. He took the stray to his home on the 2000 block of Grant Street, where he kept the new pet tethered to a backyard tree. Conklin already had a male pit bull, a 1½-year-old named "Scooby." Neither of the dogs had been neutered, so his family made sure they were separated at all times to avoid aggression.

The dogs couldn't be kept apart for long -- Scooby, who had recently been stitched up after an accident -- eventually made his way to Dadda Love's side of the yard. The new dog sniffed at Scooby's stitches and both began mauling each other. Though a stepbrother, Mark Stanley Jr., 23, tried to remove Dadda Love from Scooby by strangling and beating the animal, the pit bull would not let go.

That's when Conklin went into the house, retrieved a butcher's knife and stabbed Dadda Love in his upper left hindquarters. The dog collapsed immediately. Authorities say Conklin hid the injured dog in a bundle of clothes and placed him in a garbage cart. Then he threw the dog into nearby dumpster.

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